Anniversary antics for sailing club

A WEEKEND of anniversary celebrations were enjoyed at Annandale Sailing Club.

Club members past and present got together, on and off the water, to mark the 70th year.

An anniversary regatta on Saturday saw 17 boats launch on a gusty Castle Loch, including visitors from Solway Yacht Club and Loch Ryan sailing club in Stranraer.

Race Officer Willie Patterson ran three back-to-back races in hugely challenging conditions, with the strongest gusts recorded reaching 30 knots.

There were numerous capsizes, a few equipment breakages, and several retirals, with only five boats finishing all three races.

They were: 1st Finn Harris, Solway Yacht Club; 2nd Elaine Wheeler and Trudie Mitchell, ASC; 3rd Thomas McKendrick, ASC; 4th Katie Brown, ASC and 5th Anastasiya Yaoyao, ASC.

That night, about 60 guests gathered for an anniversary party at Kirkmichael Hall, Parkgate, where club commodore Trudie Mitchell presented the regatta prizes.

The assembled throng included 11 past commodores, former and current members.

After a delicious meal laid on by club member Steph Bamforth and team, past commodore Willie Patterson gave a potted history of the club, and long-standing member and 16-times club champion John Broadbent was awarded an honorary membership. Dancing continued until midnight, courtesy of RK DJ.

On Sunday there was a lunchtime gathering to finish off the leftovers and mull over the night before, before race officer Tony Bamforth organised two “fun” pursuit races. Again, there were some hefty gusts but a good number of boats took part and enjoyed a blast around the loch, with many taking a dip into it too.

Elaine Wheeler and Erin McKendrick won the first race in their Mirror and David Richardson won the second in his Finn.

A club spokesperson said: “A busy weekend of thrills and spills on the water, and socialising off it, ensured the club’s 70th anniversary was honoured with joy, team spirit and camaraderie.”

n For information about the club, how to join, or to apply for a place on this year’s summer training course (July 13-17) see www.annandalesailingclub.myclubhouse.co.uk